The report was prepared by representatives from the California Public Utilities Commission, the state Office of Emergency Services and a half dozen other agencies.

It says the amount of crude oil imported to California by rail increased by more than 500 percent last year and is expected to reach 150 million barrels by 2016.

"Current regulations and industry practices are not adequate given this recent boom," wrote the authors of the report.

The report identifies a half dozen stretches of railroad track where state officials say derailments have been most common and where an oil train disaster is most likely.

Those areas include the Feather River Canyon north of Chico and a stretch of track just east of the Placer County community of Colfax.

Ashley Miller, who lives on a hill overlooking the Colfax stretch of tracks, said Wednesday she's concerned.

"It's pretty scary because if it caught on fire, the fire could (go) up the hill, and there's so many houses around here that there's not a lot of protection," she said.

Furthermore, according to the state, many of these "high-hazard areas" are in rural parts of the state, up to 100 miles away from the sophisticated hazardous materials teams that would be needed to respond to an oil train fire.

"The local fire department -- and in some cases, they're volunteer -- would have to deal with that hazardous materials spill, like in the Feather River Canyon, until the qualified team could get there to handle it," said Kelly Huston, spokesman for the state emergency services agency.

Last year, a freight train car derailed in Colfax and led to the evacuation of 100 people.

However, Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the line that passes through Colfax, said it did not know why the state had identified that stretch as potentially dangerous.

"What we look at first is preventing derailments," UP spokesman Mark Davis said.

He said the company recently has invested $4.1 billion in track improvements and has trained 38,000 public responders since 2003.

Davis said emergency crews from Northern California are scheduled to attend a training session dealing specifically with oil trains later this year.

In April, the federal government ordered railroad companies to provide state and local governments with information about their oil train shipments.

However, Davis said the amount of oil UP transports into California has so far not been large enough to trigger the federal reporting requirement.

Recently, UP officials gave a presentation to the Colfax City Council about their oil train safety procedures.

Mark Miller, the city manager, said he walked away from that presentation feeling reassured.

"It certainly is something to be aware of and investigate," he said. "But in terms of the risk exposure for our population here, that's not one that keeps me up at night worrying."

TAKES ON THE QUAKES IN A BIG MATCH UP. ANY WARNING TONIGHT ABOUT OIL TRAINS ROLLING INTO CALIFORNIA. MANY COMMUNITIES ARE STILL NOT READY TO DEAL WITH THE DISASTER IF ONE OF THESE TRAINS GOES OFF THE TRACKS. THIS NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS PART OF CALIFORNIA WHERE THE RISK IS THE GREATEST. ONE OF THE DANGER ZONES IS EAST A PLASTER COUNTY IN THE CITY OF COLFAX -- EAST OF PLASTER PLACER COUNTY IN THE CITY OF COLFAX. WITH THESE OIL TRAINS, THE STATE SAYS NEXT TIME IT MAY BE MORE DEADLY. AN OIL TRAIN WITH 100 CARS SNEAKING THROUGH THE FEATHER RIVER CANYON NORTH OF CHICO. A NEW REPORT BY THE STATE SAYS, AS MORE TRAINS LIKE A CENTER CALIFORNIA, LOADED WITH OIL FROM THE FRACKING FIELDS OF THE DAKOTAS AND ENDED UP, THE RISK OR DISASTER LIKE THE ONE LAST SUMMER IN QUÉBEC THAT KILLED 47 PEOPLE, IS ALSO GOING UP. ASHLEY MILLER LINDSAY'S THE COLFAX, NEAR ONE OF A DOZEN STRETCHERS -- ASHLEY MILLER LIVES IN THE CITY OF COLFAX, NEAR ONE OF A DOZEN STRETCHES OF RAIL. THE FIRE COULD GO UP THE HILL AND THERE ARE SO MANY HOUSES AROUND HERE. THERE IS NOT A LOT OF PRODUCTION. MANY OF THESE HIGH HAZARD AREAS ARE LOCATED IN RURAL PARTS OF THE STATE, UP TO 100 MILES AWAY FROM THE SOPHISTICATED HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CREWS. IN SOME CASES, THEY ARE VOLUNTEERS AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS GO UNTIL A QUALIFIED TEAM CAN GET THE TO HANDLE IT. IN COLFAX, UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD RECENTLY GAVE THE CITY COUNCIL A PRESENTATION OF THEIR SAFETY PROCEDURES. THE CITY MANAGER SAYS HE WALKED AWAY REASSURED. IT IS SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF AND TO INVESTIGATE. BUT IN TERMS OF THE RISK EXPOSURE FOR OUR POPULATION HERE, THAT IS NOT ONE THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT WORRYING. THE STATE REPORT RECOMMENDS MORE TRAINING AND MORE EQUIPMENT FOR AREAS LIKE THIS WHERE THESE TRAIN DERAILMENTS ARE MORE LIKELY. THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA NEEDS MORE RAIL INSPECTORS. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE 52.